Technological reconversion potential of local manufacturing companies: analysis from the perspective of technology management and innovation

Guanajuato (Mexico) has attracted significant foreign investment in the automotive sector: the assembly plants of Mazda, Honda and GM, the VW engine plant, and supply companies for this industry; however, the local footwear industry, which is important as a source of employment generation, has been weakened. In this investigation we studied footwear supply companies: chemicals and plastics; textiles and synthetic fibres; hides and skins; lasts, heels and soles; components, accessories and fittings as well as machinery for footwear, and their potential for technological reconversion to become suppliers for other industries such as the automotive industry. The study is descriptive and cross-sectional, with a quantitative methodological strategy implemented through two methods: the linear probability model (LPM), and the logit model. According to the results, the reconversion potential of the footwear supply companies is medium (McFadden's R² = 0.716746 and a likelihood ratio of 71.61809 with a χ² distribution, three degrees of freedom and a p-value of zero).